Apparently shopping comes with a high price in the City of Carson-a very smelly one. An agreement involving contractor Javier Weckman and the city’s redevelopment agency which was approved by the Carson City Council in 2006 is now being put into action. The arrangement will allow construction crews to turn a former Carson City dump into a shopping center. The old CalCompact landfill is being readied to become home to Avalon at South Bay, a mixed-use commercial and residential project consisting of 2 million square feet of retail and entertainment space, a 300-room hotel and 1,550 residential units (1,150 for sale and 400 for rent). It is located north and south of Del Amo Boulevard, west of the I-405 San Diego Freeway, and north and east of the Dominguez Channel. The project area consists of 168 acres, 157-acers of which represent the former landfill.
Along with the transformation of CalCompact comes the nasal reckoning process of workers having to unearth the stinky remnants of the 40-year-old dump. The contractor says he needs to dig up and move the aged garbage and replace it with plain dirt so that the freeway interchange can be built. Caltrans officials claim that they have not made any such requirement blaming Weckman specifically for the potentially stinky decision. As a result, a nearby mobile home park may be subjected to the stench of what Weckman says will be like the smell “of an open trashcan on a hot day.”
Residents of the park are not happy.
Disgusting, says the neighbors. “We have senior citizens here that have respiratory problems.
Who wants to smell old garbage? I don’t, period,” said Carson native Lou Raucci.
Weckman recently signed a contract for CalCompact’s remediation, which will be done under the supervision of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). Weckman has been evaluating appropriate subdivision opportunities for both the below and above ground remediation of the area. The subdivision will feature private development sites for the various commercial and residential structures. Weckman assures that water and foam will be sprayed on the old garbage to eliminate as much odor as humanly possible. Construction could begin next month with expected completion of the initial phase of the project in 2010.
